…or talk me out of it.

Never been to Paris before. Surely it’s worth a look if you’re passing?

We’re in the Alps and I’m the only driver. I don’t have the stomach for Morzine to Newcastle in one go this year. We usually just roll and up wait at Calais or Dunkirk but it’s all looking a bit chaotic. The Amsterdam crossing is booked solid for the next two weeks. So I’d like to book a ferry or a chunnel for Wednesday or Thursday and break up the drive by stopping in Paris.

Where can I stay so I don’t have to drive anywhere near the centre? Any recommendations for BnB’s or hotels with safe parking and easy transport in and out of the city? I’d like it to be a chilled couple of days for me the girlfriend, not a stressful, potential, relationship killer.

General advice or tips for first time visitors welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Some friends of my parents did that and ended up in some really dodgy bits but they were idiots 😉 I’d do reims and eperney and the champagne region instead as a nice on the way stop off

Many years ago we stopped at the F1 which was in a secure part of an industrial estate but only 200 metres from the metro.

I echo Mike’s advice. I can recommend a good campsite near Reims. We stayed there during the Crumball rally, cheap with wifi and a pool.

Hotel B&B at the Porte de Villette has secure paring, it’s a stones throw from the Peripherique. Metro station nearby. Cheap as chips, clean and tidy with breakfast for a little over £40

http://www.hotel-bb.com/fr/hotels/ville/paris.htm?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=49433067450&utm_term=b%26b%20hotel%20paris.e&gclid=CjwKEAjww_a8BRDB-O-OqZb_vRASJAA9yrc5YDWkQxNIwfj5qc7h_WL_whuPMijxlPvw5DcCspUFzhoCYRDw_wcB

Try and stay inside the periphique…port De villete is a decent area

Maisons Lafitte is a nice area, quite affluent. There’s a eurocamp site there also close to the RER line which takes you into the centre of Paris.

Definitely stop off, easy to do. I would guess the gf will appreciate it.

As above a place with secure parking is what you are after ideally with metro nearby – you can buy a book (carnet) of 10 tickets to use as you wish. Paris quite empty at the moment as its holiday season and many locals are away, so roads are quiter than usual. We are in Levallois just outside Periph on West side, last 3 metro stops – don’t know of anywhere here as cheap as McMoonters place with parking though. Remember your priorite a droit here (eg people joing the periph often have right of way and roundabouts in the centre are priorite a droit plus some have traffic lights half way round) and take care generally but locals see a Brit plate and will be more curtious than they would to a French regional plate 😉

Driving into the Periph itsepf is pretty straightforward, once you get inside and off dual carriageways ok just take care as above its quiet at the moment. We allow 3 hours to Eurotunnel and make it easily, we take A16 as we are west side. Note you can put Coquelles in as destination.

I assume you have a decent sat nav (can recommend free waze app) also restaurant app la forchette (the fork) is worth downloading, we got 40% our food last night. Summer street cafe culture is in full swing so enjoy. Ideas: Do the normal arc de tromphe, a bit of the Champs Elyse if only to see the state of the cobbles the TdF race over. Walk from Place de la Corconrde through gardens past Louvre (queue goes quickly) and along river to Notre Dame, gound round the back and onto Il de la Cite (ice cream just over little bridge). Take a river cruise (drinks only, dinner ones rather pricey for so so quality). Pont Alexandre III and Grand Palais, should be some river side bars open. See Eiffel Tower from Trocadero then walk down if you wish. Sacre Couer worth a trip, nice bistro called Cafe Francencouer about 10 mins walk away – lots of classic French movie stairs around that area. Normal tourist advice, watch for pick pockets and “did you drop this” scams.

driving in paris is not ‘chilled’
be prepared to honk with vengeance and muscle through queues 😀

Lovely place though!

We bottled it!

Sorry. Thanks for the info everyone but we’re back in Newcastle after a horrific drive. I always say “never again” but then I’ve got a full year to forget how bad it was. Why is it that you can drive across the whole of France in a day with one eye closed but when you hit the UK the whole place is a car park?

Anyway, I read all your tips. I did a lot of Googling for hotels and campsites, I learned how the metro system works. There’s loads of other threads on here which I checked out. So we’re inspired to go to Paris, but we’re going to do a long weekend and fly in with no driving necessary.

Next year, when my girlfriends new driving licence has matured enough for her to be insured on the van, it will be a different story.

bend her over, slip it in.

For ref for anyone thinking about this, we had real trouble finding secure parking that wasn’t height restricted to 2m. Ended up parking on street in St Denis – fully expected to find brand new van on bricks in the morning (we didn’t)

So we’re inspired to go to Paris, but we’re going to do a long weekend and fly in with no driving necessary.

If you can get the advanced fares look at the express from Newcastle to Kings Cross then walk next door for the eurostar, it was a very chilled trip when I did it.